It’s hard to think about Dee Dee Blanchard’s murder without thinking about her daughter, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, and her part in it, especially as you watch Hulu’s series based on the case, The Act (the first two episodes are now on Hulu). The series leaves the culprit as a mystery initially, but begins laying breadcrumbs to the truth as early as episode 1.
But who killed Dee Dee Blanchard, actually? The answer to that question is a complicated one, and the responsibility doesn’t fall to Gypsy alone. Nicholas Godejohn, Gypsy’s boyfriend at the time, was the one who actually did the killing, but there’s more to the story than that. After her murder, it was discovered that Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy. Gypsy Rose knew that, despite the fact that her mother forced her into using a wheelchair for most of her life, Gypsy could actually walk and that she wasn’t as sick as her mom was telling everyone she was, including her doctors. When she met Godejohn through a Christian dating website, she saw him as a way to escape her mother.
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According to the Springfield News Leader, Gypsy Rose said in her testimony during Godejohn’s trial that they planned to kill Dee Dee ahead of time, and that Gypsy had stolen a knife and gloves from Walmart to give to him to kill her mother. She said that she hid in the bathroom in their home while Godejohn stabbed her mother to death.
Gypsy Rose pled guilty to second degree murder and will be eligible for parole in 2024, and in February 2019, Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering Dee Dee, along with an additional 25 year sentence for armed criminal action.
As Missouri local Fox affiliate KOAM pointed out, Godejohn originally admitted to stabbing Dee Dee when he was interrogated in 2015, saying that there was “no way” he would have done it if it wasn’t for Gypsy.
With shows like The Act and documentaries like Mommy Dead and Dearest, more people are curious about Dee Dee Blanchard’s murder than ever. There definitely still seem to be more questions about the incident than answers, but who killed Dee Dee is part of the case that has been solved.